Utah Valley University opened a Schwab-supported FinTech Center, giving students hands-on experience with industry tools while strengthening Utah’s growing financial services and fintech talent pipeline.
Orem, Utah — January 9, 2026
Utah Valley University has opened a new Financial Technology (FinTech) Center designed to connect students directly to the tools, platforms, and workflows reshaping modern financial services—strengthening Utah’s growing fintech and advisory ecosystem in the process.
The UVU FinTech Center, unveiled January 8 in the Scott C. Keller Building, is powered by the Charles Schwab Foundation and serves as a hands-on learning hub for students in finance, financial planning, and wealth management. The center builds on the momentum of UVU’s nationally recognized Financial Planning and Wealth Management (FPWM) program, recently ranked third in the nation and first in the West.
The FinTech Center is structured around applied experience. Students work directly with industry-standard financial planning software, data analytics tools, automation platforms, and emerging technologies such as blockchain applications and digital assets—skills increasingly expected by advisory firms, fintech startups, and financial services employers.
“Because of my classes at UVU, I walked into my internship already knowing how to use financial planning software, which made a huge difference early on,” said Jenna Smith, chief marketing officer of the Personal Financial Planning Association, a UVU student organization. “The FinTech Center gives more students that same head start.”
The center also serves as a convening space for the broader finance and fintech community, hosting workshops, guest speakers, research initiatives, and student-led projects at the intersection of finance and technology. For regional employers, it creates a clearer pipeline to graduates who are job-ready on day one.
“This center reflects how finance education has to evolve,” said Bob Allen, Ph.D., dean of the Woodbury School of Business at UVU. “Our students are already competing—and winning—at the national level. The FinTech Center gives them earlier exposure to the tools and technologies firms actually use, while expanding opportunities for collaboration with industry partners.”
Schwab Advisor Services and the Charles Schwab Foundation supported the center as part of their broader investment in workforce development and financial planning education.
“We’re pleased to support UVU’s FinTech Center,” said Lisa Salvi, managing director of business consulting and education at Schwab Advisor Services. “This partnership helps ensure students graduate with practical experience using the tools shaping today’s advisory profession.”
UVU’s FPWM program has earned four consecutive national championships at the AFCPE Knowledge Bowl, top placements in the FPA Financial Planning Challenge, and multiple national competition wins. Students have also received the RIA Talent Advantage Student Scholarship for four straight years—reinforcing the program’s reputation as a talent engine for the financial services industry.
With the launch of the FinTech Center, UVU is positioning itself not just as an academic leader, but as a contributor to Utah’s broader fintech and financial services ecosystem—supplying skilled graduates, applied research, and industry-aligned innovation.
Learn more here.
